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So I decided to make this small guide, on how to partitioning your sd card with paragon partition manager… There is many different ways, including a script an xda forum member created, and ubuntu as well.. But I assume paragon partition manager might be the best for all people who don’t know how to use Linux very much..
i wrote it on my blog, if is considered spam than illtry to put the images content directly in the post
http://nitropr.us/web/2009/05/08/format-sd-card-with-paragon-partition-manager/
hope it helps some one.. i know i know there is MANY ways for this.. but well sicne paragon question keep popping up and did not see a small how to with images for new users so hope it helps least 1 person
Thanks! That will be useful for many... this should be sticky along with the sapphire/magic port (after someone starts a new thread for the newer builds. 600 pages!) Or at least a wrap stick (a thread that contains many highly used threads like in the developement and hacking section under the main thread) would be useful.
i think this is the easiest way. I did this to my card and took only a few min. def the way to go.
its a good guide, but i have a question everytime i try to format this way in paragon it says cannot create partition because all primary slots are taken, it says this when i try to resize or create new. any ideas?
Ok I resized my card using paragon my fat32 is 5gb and my EXT2 is 1.5gb. I went and tried to follow these instructions http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Haykuro_Apps_to_SD and for some reason I am not seeing the system/xbin/busybox folder.
Screenshot of my sdcard
jak33 said:
its a good guide, but i have a question everytime i try to format this way in paragon it says cannot create partition because all primary slots are taken, it says this when i try to resize or create new. any ideas?
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how many partitiosn it list for the sdcard? sometimes when you use the usb cable then tend to mess up.. try creatign the FAT32 formatign it and than rezise and make teh ext2
chief2842 said:
Ok I resized my card using paragon my fat32 is 5gb and my EXT2 is 1.5gb. I went and tried to follow these instructions http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Haykuro_Apps_to_SD and for some reason I am not seeing the system/xbin/busybox folder.
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Click to collapse
i am still using JF build haven't tried Haykuro builds... sicne my phone is smooth im kinda of lazy to be recofniguring not sure how that works mayeb some oen else can help you.
Nitro212 said:
how many partitiosn it list for the sdcard? sometimes when you use the usb cable then tend to mess up.. try creatign the FAT32 formatign it and than rezise and make teh ext2
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Click to collapse
funny ting, my pc never reads my sd card unless its through the phone. Ive tried the card on multiple systems, and i get the same results. so im forced to modify the card while its in the phone.
chief2842 said:
Ok I resized my card using paragon my fat32 is 5gb and my EXT2 is 1.5gb. I went and tried to follow these instructions http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Haykuro_Apps_to_SD and for some reason I am not seeing the system/xbin/busybox folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few things here:
1. Unless you're planning on downloading every app ever made, you're never going to need a ext2 partition larger than 500mb, and even that is a LOT. I tried to fill my partition and managed to squeeze over 300 apps on there before I ran out of room...then I had to painfully uninstall them all cause I didnt feel like reformatting/reflashing/restoring.
2. Make sure you're using the right version of apps-to-sd. Haykuro's latest builds can be found here. The apps-to-sd versions are linked at the very top of the page.
3. The directories you're looking for are NOT on the sd card. They are only visible on the phone through adb. If you're not familiar with adb, do a quick forum search on how to set it up.
question.com said:
funny ting, my pc never reads my sd card unless its through the phone. Ive tried the card on multiple systems, and i get the same results. so im forced to modify the card while its in the phone.
Click to expand...
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when uiu partition via usb cable the partition tend to mess up.. and not moutn o n the phone..
what you can do is, insert the sdcard check min my computer under management and assign a letter to th sdcard so the pc will read it mount it
Thanks will look into the adb issues but I am using the 5.0.2Hr apps to sd build.
Help
I been trying to format the ext2 in my SDcard with Paragon Partition Manager but it saids I can use a demo version but it will not allow me to do the ext2 it saids I have to buy the full version. could someone tell me where to get the software that will work? thanks
vicmanf said:
I been trying to format the ext2 in my SDcard with Paragon Partition Manager but it saids I can use a demo version but it will not allow me to do the ext2 it saids I have to buy the full version. could someone tell me where to get the software that will work? thanks
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Click to collapse
Merry Christmas, get your software here.
My first post here, but I have been visiting these forums for a long time.
I will try this approach and let's see how I do.
Thanks for posting!
I put this short guide together because I tend to see a lot of confusion regarding what a "wipe data / factory reset" does to your phone.
These are the steps you should take before loading a new ROM:
1) Download your new ROM and relevant supporting or needed files like modem, alternate kernel, etc., and place them on your internal SD.
2) Backup your applications, settings, messages, etc., with a backup tool like Titanium Backup, image specific backup tool, etc.
3) Boot into recovery and run a “wipe data/factory reset"
4) Follow the developers ROM loading instructions.
When you perform a “wipe data/factory reset” the content of the following directories are deleted :
/data
/cache
/datadata
/sd-ext
/sdcard/.android_secure
Nothing else on your SD card (internal or external) outside of these directories is modified so it is safe to leave files outside of the above mentioned directories without fear of losing them. Your external SD card and SIM do not need to be removed. The goal here is load a new or updated ROM in as much a clean environment that you can. Files left behind in these, especially cache and davlik-cache can cause some of the strangest problems. The kind that nobody can really resolve.
/cache - This is the partition where Android stores frequently accessed data and application components to make these, as implied, respond much faster as well as faster to retrieve / access.
/datadata – This directory contains the library, database, user specific configuration files as well as log files for its specific application installed in the /data directory.
/data directory is where your contacts, messages, settings and apps that you have installed go. Wiping this partition essentially restores it to the way it was when you first booted it, or how it was after your last custom ROM install.
If your ROM uses an /sd-ext partition on your SD card for data storage your /data directory is mapped to /sd-ext and wiping the /sd-ext directory will result in losing your data.
/sd-ext is used for apps moved to your SD card. Your Android OS runs natively in an ext format while your SD card has a fat32 format, which is used typically for USB storage devices, Windows computers, etc.
The sd-ext partition is an additional partition on your SD card that acts as the /data partition when used with certain ROMs that have APP2SD or data2ext enabled. It is popularly used on devices that have little memory allotted to the /data partition. A misfortune that in my experience, Captivate does not partake in. Still, users who want to install more programs than the internal memory allows can take advantage of this partition and use it with a ROM supporting this feature.
The folder named .android_secure is where apps are stored when you perform the "move from phone to SDram/SD card" operation.
Consider this, Apps2SD uses the fat32 portion of your SD card, which is obviously limiting because it isn't Androids native file system. However, if you format your SD card, or partition a part of it as a ext file system, you can trick the phone into thinking it's part of the Android OS native environment. This will allow you to move applications, widgets, even cache and davlik cache over to it.
Disclaimer! I am not responsible for any damage you may cause to your phone or SD Card if you try to enable/use sd-ext.
To enable sd-ext in ClockWork Mod (ROM Manager):
Boot into CWM
Go to Advanced
Then to "Partition SD Card"
Choose an sd-ext size
Then choose a swap size, or not. Swap is just like windows' virtual memory. The system will use it when you're running low on RAM and use it as temporary RAM storage. This is where you'll probably see an increase in speed.
Just for fun I put sd-ext at 512MB and Swap at 64MB which is probably more than plenty for the swap. The swap will assist a little with memory and with the extra space I can move my apps over to it with a program like App2SD or in most custom ROMs nowadays just use the "move to USB" option in "Manage Applications". Titanium Backup will also move apps to SD for you and I'm sure you can find plenty more in the market.
You can also use a tool like Minitool Partition Wizard:
1. Open Minitool Partition Wizard
2. Delete Existing Partition from SDCard (Backup data first!!)
3. Create Fat32 Partition
Note: Set all partitions to PRIMARY (Steps 3 - 6)
4. Create EXT2 Partition (System) about 150MB-200MB depend on ROM
5. Create EXT2 Partition (Data) about 150MB-250MB
6. Create EXT2 Partition (Cache) about 50MB
Personally I don't see a need to do any of this on either of my Captivate phones though I have played with it on my DEV phone.
And since it does play a big role and needs to be cleared at times...
Davlik-Cache - dalvik cache is a program cache area for the program "Dalvik". Dalvik is a java based virtual machine that is the base for running your (.apk) programs. In order to make access times faster (there wasn't a JIT compiler installed by default until Android 2.2), the dalvik-cache is the result of dalvik doing a optimization of the running program/s. This optimization is kept so that it is then re-used every time you use your application/s. By default, davlik-cache is located in your /data partition.
No, I'm not looking for donations. Just trying to clarify things for some.
Great info, but a "guide" assists you in doing something, this is just straight info.
While I initially intended on writing it to guide flashers into the benefits of a wipe data / factory reset, and avoiding the myriad of strange issues experienced, I can see now where it can more construed as informational. Hmmm... maybe I'll add more to it or ask a mod to change the title topic for me.
Regardless, my hope is that some people get some benefit out of it otherwise I've only wasted my time.
Thanks, I've been wondering for a while what that actually did.
Great start for a guide that should clear the boards up a bit. I vote it to be stickied after adding a bit more info on backing up, partitioning the sd card, dalvik cache, etc.
I think it is important to explain that a reset should not be done after flashing a custom ROM because it deletes the Dev's settings/data/non-system apps. Instead flashers should either reset after flashing back to stock or before flashing a custom ROM over the current custom ROM.
Cozmo1 said:
I put this short guide together because I tend to see a lot of confusion regarding what a "wipe data / factory reset" does to your phone.
When you perform a “wipe data/factory reset” the content of the following directories are deleted :
/data
/cache
/datadata
/sd-ext
/sdcard/.android_secure
/cache - This is the partition where Android stores frequently accessed data and application components to make these, as implied, respond much faster as well as faster to retrieve / access.
/datadata – This directory contains the library, database, user specific configuration files as well as log files for its specific application installed in the /data directory.
/data directory is where your contacts, messages, settings and apps that you have installed go. Wiping this partition essentially restores it to the way it was when you first booted it, or how it was after your last custom ROM install.
If your ROM uses an /sd-ext partition on your SD card for data storage your /data directory is mapped to /sd-ext and wiping the /sd-ext directory will result in losing your data.
/sd-ext is used for apps moved to your SD card. Your Android OS runs natively in an ext format while your SD card has a fat32 format, which is used typically for USB storage devices, Windows computers, etc.
The folder named .android_secure is where apps are stored when you perform the "move from phone to SDram/SD card" operation.
Consider this, Apps2SD uses the fat32 portion of your SD card, which is obviously limiting because it isn't Androids native file system. However, if you format your SD card, or partition a part of it as a ext file system, you can trick the phone into thinking it's part of the Android OS native environment. This will allow you to move applications, widgets, even cache and davlik cache over to it.
Nothing else on your SD card (internal or external) is modified so it is safe to leave files outside of the above mentioned directories without fear of losing them.
If you plan on trying several different ROM's and/or updating your favorite ROM every time a new version is released you need to invest in an application like Titanium Backup or one that comes with your ROM if it's supplied with one. MIUI includes one that works extremely well. Performing a “wipe data/factory reset" after loading your new ROM and before booting into it should provide you with a smoother transition to your newly chosen or upgraded ROM. Having a standard backup and restoral process should help you enjoy it quicker too.
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Click to collapse
Here is something I keep in a word file to help answer what you are also trying to answer. It is a bit shorter and simplified but it may help to polish your thread for us simpletons.
Dalvik cache is a place where the Android OS re-compiles the executable programs the first time to optimize them. It does this when you make a major change like replace the kernel/modem. Clearing the Dalvik cache will force Android OS to recompile the apps for the the new kernel/modem. This can take time on the first boot after clearing the Dalvik cache.
Also the main data Cache is used by the Android OS at run-time to write temporary files for specific reasons. You want to clear this out so it doesn't re-use the old cached data.
Manually clearing both caches allows the new kernel/modem to be installed in a "cleaner" environment. It's just preventative maintenance.
snowake said:
I think it is important to explain that a reset should not be done after flashing a custom ROM because it deletes the Dev's settings/data/non-system apps. Instead flashers should either reset after flashing back to stock or before flashing a custom ROM over the current custom ROM.
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Click to collapse
This actually makes perfect sense to me. I have modified my OP because of your input. Thank you very much, snowake!
Cozmo1 said:
This actually makes perfect sense to me. I have modified my OP because of your input. Thank you very much, snowake!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do u have more info about "format your SD card, or partition a part of it as a ext file system" or how to do that.
i have read someone format part of the sdcard (class 10)to ext 2 or 4,to make the write n read faster.is that what you mean.can u guide me to the right direction.thank in advance.
? ? ? about this......(However, if you format your SD card, or partition a part of it as a ext file system, you can trick the phone into thinking it's part of the Android OS native environment. This will allow you to move applications, widgets, even cache and davlik cache over to it.)
Cozmo1 said:
This actually makes perfect sense to me. I have modified my OP because of your input. Thank you very much, snowake!
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Click to collapse
I struggled with all of this my first first few flashes.
xpakage said:
...Dalvik cache is a place where the Android OS re-compiles the executable programs the first time to optimize them.
...
Also the main data Cache is used by the Android OS at run-time to write temporary files for specific reasons.
Manually clearing both caches allows the new kernel/modem to be installed in a "cleaner" environment. It's just preventative maintenance.[/I]
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Click to collapse
That is much more boiled down. I looked back at the "how to flash" threads and a couple good explanations on custom roms. None explain this that I found.
Cosmo, here are some more thoughts on misunderstandings I have had and seen posted. Like post above I pasted from my notes, so may be incorrect.
Bootloaders: Same for Froyo/Eclaire in both i897 and i9000 roms. GB requires new bootloaders, but i897 are apparently cross-compatible. However, issues seem to pop up on i9000 roms with GB i897 bootloaders. If flashing back to Froyo, use the full jf6 stock, not cezar's stock eclaire without bootloaders.
Using Tibu: If no useful data (i.e. Bookmarks on dolphin) then simply click data only when restoring user apps. Typically no issues when restoring user apps after switching Android versions. However, system apps should not be restored because of the rom customizations. Especially when switching to GB because it uses different directory structure. I do not seem to have issues when staying on same version and restoring foreground (user accessible) apps with data only or restoring green text color sys apps with Tibu as icon (i.e. Accounts).
Rom manager: really only need the app if flash to stock and need to flash rom directly from cwm. If so, then flash cwm (top button in menu) and choose phone. This places update.zip in /sd, which is opened after selecting "reinstall update" in stock recovery. Usually have to select it twice for it to work. This will replace ATT stock 2e recovery (blue text) with cwm 2.5 (froyo).
Voodoo color, lagfix, sound: must either be included in kernel. Lagfix simply allows user to format sd as ext4 (linux). Color balances display so less blue iodes are used and color is more realistic. Sound allows clearer sound through headphones through tweaks enabled in voodoo app. If sound is not in kernel then purchase voodoo pro in market and it will install it into the kernel (if rooted, even if stock).
Thanks for clearing that up!
- Aaron
Updated with more details.
Really, really useful. Had no idea partition options were available to this extent! Especially swap. By mini tool are you referring to Easus' program? I am definitely checking this out tonight. Thanks!
Great guide. In order to clear
/sdcard dir I master clear it after flashing to stock. Is there an alternate method besides deleting dirs myself?
snowake said:
Great guide. In order to clear
/sdcard dir I master clear it after flashing to stock. Is there an alternate method besides deleting dirs myself?
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That is probably the safest way to do it within the phone itself. An alternate way would be to mount it to your computer:
In Windows right click the drive that was assigned to your internal SD card and then click on format. By default it'll most likely set you to Fat32 and if you click format it'll say its complete, but nothing will be deleted. Android being a Linux OS doesn't use fat. You can format it by choosing exFat, but by doing this...
!!!WARNING!!! be aware that you will lose everything on your internal SD card AND your external SD card.
Emphasis placed mainly for others that read this and might not know.
Safer and easier to do it within the phone.
snowake said:
Really, really useful. Had no idea partition options were available to this extent! Especially swap. By mini tool are you referring to Easus' program? I am definitely checking this out tonight. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one is from MiniTool, though I wouldn't be surprised if Easus owned them. I didn't investigate to confirm. You can get the free home edition of MiniTool Partition Wizard here.
Very nice infos. Deserves a sticky, although, probably in a different thread.
Some information on what "Master Clear" in Odin would also be helpful - I have never trusted my phone to 'truly' clear everything on the phone, I have found the Odin Master Clear option to be much more complete.
It is a bit odd, I do this with my PC every six months, I back everything up and format the drive and start over again (after running Spinrite on all the drives) - I do this on / around New Years and again over 4th of July weekend and I decided this past weekend to also do the same with my smart phones (4 Cappies) and tablets (Ipad and 2 Android tabs) this past weekend.
It gives me that sort of squeaky clean feeling and seems to make my devices run smoother. Maybe its all in my head, dunno *shrugs*.
One thing I can say however, I have not had a hard drive go bad on me since I started the Spinrite thing 10 years ago (I still have an 8 GB hdd in my desktop that is working!!).
Any decent update(r)-script will do this for you.
Sent from my Infuse 4G
littlewierdo said:
Very nice infos. Deserves a sticky, although, probably in a different thread.
Some information on what "Master Clear" in Odin would also be helpful - I have never trusted my phone to 'truly' clear everything on the phone, I have found the Odin Master Clear option to be much more complete.
It is a bit odd, I do this with my PC every six months, I back everything up and format the drive and start over again (after running Spinrite on all the drives) - I do this on / around New Years and again over 4th of July weekend and I decided this past weekend to also do the same with my smart phones (4 Cappies) and tablets (Ipad and 2 Android tabs) this past weekend.
It gives me that sort of squeaky clean feeling and seems to make my devices run smoother. Maybe its all in my head, dunno *shrugs*.
One thing I can say however, I have not had a hard drive go bad on me since I started the Spinrite thing 10 years ago (I still have an 8 GB hdd in my desktop that is working!!).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can run some tests on Odin's master clear to confirm what it does. Initially I would believe it does the same as a "wipe data / factory reset", but testing should let us know for sure. I'll test it this weekend. Maybe sooner.
Awesome to hear that I'm not the only advocate for SpinRite and I still use it a lot though not every 6 months like you do. It's definitely worth having and using.
MikeyMike01 said:
Any decent update(r)-script will do this for you.
Sent from my Infuse 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally 100% agree with you, MikeyMike01. Unfortunately, not all update scripts are created equally Asides from teaching people how to script themselves or parse through it, a task I do not have the time or patience to tackle, this it probably the easiest and best way to have users try to avoid the many and strange issues posted that possibly / most likely could've been avoided by using the tools at their disposal.
On a side note... I didn't notice you got yourself an Infuse 4G. Congrats! How do you like it? I've been out of contract for almost a year now and wouldn't mind upgrading (my wife is in contract), but I haven't seen anything really worth upgrading to or that does something I really need/want that the Captivate cannot, atm. I haven't looked up any specs and reviews on the Infuse yet tho.
Hello XDA,
Before anything, I just wanted to introduce myself, and say thank you. My name is Tyler, and i've had a LG Optimus V for Virgin Mobile for a few months now. I've heard about rooting your phone, but have always been afraid to on the risk of bricking it. Thanks to this AMAZING site/forum and all the great and wonderful people that post on it, I did some research throughout the forum and found so much helpful information that I had grew enough confidence to root my phone. Now here I am, 2 days into my rooted phone! So honestly, thank you XDA, everyone has been so helpful and great.
Now, on to my question . I apologize if this is not in the correct spot in the forum, but I was unable to post in the development due to this being my first post. I'm trying to partition my SD card so I could save my internal storage space, and install to my SD. I looked at a few other posts, and gathered as much information as I can. Basically, here is what I have done so far:
1) Download/Installed Link2SD on my phone.
2) Connected SD to my PC, and using MiniTool Partition Wizard I created 2 partitions for the SD card.
As I read in a few other posts, I know there are some things to remember when partitioning. Please let me know if there is anything I missed. I created my first, main, partition. From my 4GB card, I made the first partition 3.4GB. Made sure it was "Primary", and a file system of FAT32. The remaining 306MB I created my 2nd Partition. This one, also "primary", and a EXT2 file system. Applied all settings.
3) Restored all my original files back to Partition1 of card.
4) Mounted card into phone, and started Link2SD. This is where my problems are happening. When it starts, I get a note about my second partition, and what file system I want for it. I am given the options of EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, or FAT16/FAT32. Any option I click on I get an error message. Every one says "Mount script can not be created.", but with a different note at the bottom. For the FAT16/FAT32 Option, it still says it cant be created, but theres another line under it saying "mount: Invalid argument"
All of the EXT's have the same error message when clicked on it. It says about the mount script can not be created, but then under that it says "mount: No such device" under that it says "ext2 (or 3 or 4 if that the option picked) may not be supported on your device. Try FAT32 on the second partition"
basically, every option I click I have no luck. I've seen other posts with it working on other Optimus V's. The only thing I could think of is the ROM? Im not too familiar with Rooting, etc. but I got it done. The ROM i'm using is the one given on this site from member: sublimewulf in there post with the HOW TO root optimus V. The ROM is "Stock Rom Rooted and De Odexed minus Bloat" (filename: "Stock Rooted and Optimized.zip") I guess like the filename says, its a stock ROM?
Any help, including a re-walkthrough, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again,
AND FOREVER XDA!!!
why dont you try partitioning the card through recovery options?
Hi,
This has been asked many times before with no real solution that applies to different devices.
I'm running out of space on my /system partition and can't install any more apps even though I don't have that many installed.
I want a way to re-size the Android partitions manually to whatever size I want. Or just delete all current partitions and create new ones.
How do I do that? Is there any GUI partitioning tools similar to the ones available for Windows?
I don't want to move files from /system to another partition. I want to change the partition size.
My current /system partition:
For what reason are you moving apps to /system? You can't install them there, you have to push/move them there, installs go to /data. So keep them in /data, where they're installed by default. You have tons of space available there.
Partition table (start addresses and sizes) is hard-coded in bootloader, and can be redefined in kernel boot parameters (in this case recovery needs to be recompiled with the same parameters too, otherwise it won't write to the same partitions the kernel will read from). You're welcome to hack any of those. As you could probably understand from this paragraph, I wouldn't expect having GUI tools for that.
Thanks for the reply.
I'm not trying to move apps to /system. I thought apps are installed there by default because every time I try to install a new app it gives me an error message saying that there is not enough space on /system.
Now I know that apps are not installed in /system.
I just need more space in /system so I can install new apps without any errors.
What can I do to get more space on /system partition? Can I replace the bootloader?
I don't have any Android programming experience. I probably need something that is available out there to do the job.
In stock form, you shouldn't even have write permissions to /system. Nothing should be ever written there, and it can be 99.99999% utilized - there shouldn't be any free space left for anything, it shouldn't normally be used.
If you're getting that error when trying to install an app - you need to check what's reporting the error. It's not a "real" error, it means there's something wrong with your phone.
Try wiping cache partition from recovery...does this make any difference?
Jack is correct.
Swyped from my DesireS
refer to this
if this may help you http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1959691
:highfive:
mayank88288 said:
refer to this
if this may help you http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1959691
:highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Way to bump a year old thread :thumbup:
“I'm bad and I'm going to hell, and I don't care. I'd rather be in hell than anywhere where you are. ”*―*William Faulkner
Hi There
Can someone explain what he\she did to partition SD card, and make all apps get installed on it.
Please note :
1. I don't want to use Titanium backup for this usage. I don't have the paid version and I'm tired of doing this one app at a time.
2. I saw some guides on the net, but they were all for GB.
(partition the microSD on PC using minitool) -can we use ext4 on our MTD ROMs ? What is the 1st partition for ? and the 2nd ?
(install busybox and super user) - Is it still needed ? (MIUI for example has LBE as su).
(install Link2SD) - Is it always in memory ?
(reboot and put partitioned SD card)
(Define Link2SD)
3. I also saw swapper instructions but I can manage with 170MB free RAM memory I get after removing all unnecessary system apps, and I remember ppl saying then that it kills the SDCard very quickly.
If someone has a clear guide or instructions that he knows work, that will be nice.
Thanks in advance.
Step 1. Partition your SD card to have a sd-ext partition. This can definitely be ext2 or FAT16. Anything else depends on your kernel. Most of them do support ext3 and 4, but... start with something fairly basic.
Regarding recoveries:
TWRP has always failed for me on this, so I'd avoid that.
This may be doable in CWM. I've seen reference to that newer versions of CWM removed the partition option, so you might need to flash an ICS ROM with an older kernel, repartition, and then flash back to the one you want.
Also note that if you use CWM to repartition, your SD-card will be wiped. So do a backup first.
Step 2. Install Mounts2SD. Either from XDA or the Play Store. Even if you do take it from the Play Store to get update notifications, I highly suggest grabbing the recovery script from the XDA thread so that you can get back your shifted applications without needing to re-download and install M2SD, since it likes to be on internal which means... shifted off.
Step 3. Open Mounts2SD. Grant SU rights at whatever point it asks for it during step 3. Hit the menu button. Go to Application Settings. Install the Startup Script. Tell it to use the built-in busybox as well, so that you don't need to install anything or worry about it failing. Back out of the Application Settings.
Step 4. Press on the Wrench to go into the actual specific settings. I currently have forced Cache, 1% Storage Threshold, Applications are the only bit moved, the File System Check is on and using the Ext4 Driver, 128KB Deadline for Internal and 4096 with Deadline for External, and Safe Mode is disabled. But decide on what you want yourself, set it, go back to the Eye to see your current info.
Step 5. Reboot.
Step 6. Wait 1-30 minutes for it to finish moving all your stuff around.
Step 7. Unlock your phone, open Mounts2SD, and make sure everything looks pretty on that first 'Eye' info tab. If you like it then close Mounts2SD and keep going on your merry way. If you don't like it or you've done something like offload your data and now your phone is wretchedly slow, go to the Wrench, change your settings, go back to the Eye, and reboot again. Repeat until satisfied.
I thought it would be simplier.
A few more questions:
1. If I partition SD on PC, then I don't need any partitioning on recovery so it should work fine even on TWRP or advanced CWMs. Am I right?
2. Why do I need scripts for? Isn't the app enough?
3. Why should/could it possibly slow down my device? TB 'move to SD' for all doesn't slow my device what so ever.
4. How and where do I see what partition is used for what?
5. How much RAM does the app take?
6. Have you tried other apps link2sd or something CM has built in I think.?
Thanks.
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New answers to new questions.
1. Skip step 1 if you've done it on your PC. I just suggested recovery as that's easy... if you've made your sd-ext partition on the PC, step 1 is done.
2. No clue on Link2SD. I use Mounts2SD instead since it lets me set things. It probably does the same thing though and sets a init.d script that gets run during startup.
3. True. For some reason though having all your data moved to sd-ext makes our phone go to a crawl. Same if you move off the dalvik.
4. That's in Mounts2SD. No clue how you can see if you're using Link2SD.
5. For Mounts2SD, none while it's being used, since it just runs as a startup script. The app is just to control the script.
6. Not successfully. I had tried 5 or 6 different apps back a year ago or so when I first started playing with sd-ext and Mounts2SD was the best and free, so... never looked back after that. Now you can also do some system-flag tweaking if you want to donate, but the sd-ext stuff is all free.
I was able to successfully partition SD and use mount2sd on 4.3 SlimBean.
however, it was rather slow.
CM 10.1 and CM10.2 by DJL. did not allow me to partition nor did they recognize SlimBean's partition even if I replaced them kernel (to NilTMT).
I'm currently using CM10.1 which is stable as a daily driver and manually swapping apps with TB, I hate it, but this is the best combination I've come so far.
I sold my wife's SGS4G and upgraded her to SGS3 and hopefully in a year I will do the same. it had its moments, but on the bottom line it's a pretty ****ty phone with its lack of internal mem...but hey, it drove so many of us to go deeper and deeper trying to understand and made us more tecnolgical and solution oriented.
Mounts2SD worked for me on CM10.1, so not sure why it failed for you. Ah well.
A few things I have found...
Yes, you can partition on Windows, but you're really asking for trouble. It's not too bad download Ubuntu or the like and you can boot off a USB stick without touching your Windows install.
The TeamAcid kernels that I know of handle ext2/3/4 file systems. All kinds of arguments as to which are better. I personally use ext4 and don't find it obviously "slow" for the way I use my phone.
That said, what the boot scripts (which are part of a flashed "kernel" for the SGS4G) actually do with a "special" partition is another story. In some cases the first stages of booting will look for special partitions and mount them in pre-configured places. For example, the second partition of the removable card might be mounted on /sd-ext/ in many CyanogenMod ROMs. Many (most?) SGS4G ROMs don't have these "special" mount rules defined.
Moving an app to SD using the "native" approach just moves the app and none of its data to the SD card. It won't for example, move 25 MB of mail from /data/data to your microSD
Moving an app to SD (or anywhere else) doesn't keep it from generating its classes in /data/dalvik-cache -- It isn't "free" to have an app on SD as far as internal storage goes, even if it doesn't write any data.
Moving an app to SD will absolutely slow down your boot time. It does it by creating a file that contains a file system that then gets read and mounted at boot time. You can watch the parade of them getting mounted using adb logcat. It can take a minute or two to mount them all. Once mounted, that double layer of file systems shouldn't slow you down too much, since it is basically a read-only kind of thing.
Scripts are required since you need to be able to "fake out" the operating system as to where things are stored for anything (except if you just use the native app to SD method). In most cases you need new partitions mounted before the Android part of the OS starts running.
Some scripts are more robust than others.
TitaniumBackup (paid version) has a way to move data to an external partition. It works like a charm for me (64 GB Sandisk UHS-1 / Class 10 microSD). It was very tweaky for me to get it to recognize the ext4 partition the first time. It can bulk-move app data to the partition. I don't know which, if any, of the other scripts move the data to an external partition.
On my phone, an ext4 file system can be significantly faster than the internal yaffs, especially for write. Alas, it usually seems to be read that is a killer for most things in an well-written app. On my phone, yaffs can be faster than ext4 for short reads. Who knows how this would play out in real-world usage.
Other things that TitaniumBackup can do that help free up internal storage, at least in the paid version, are:
Dalvik cache cleanup
Integrate system Dalvik cache into ROM
Integrate update into ROM
Convert to system app
I can confirm Link2SD works where Mount2SD fails, which is an ext3 partitioned sd-ext on AOKP. it doesn't get any simpler than that.
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